Unplanned Interruptions

After I ran the CIM in December I took a few weeks off from running and most other activities.  I was relishing in the fact that my body carried me 26+ miles and I wanted time to heal.  Also, I just felt like I needed a break after training for almost 6 months {training for the Urban Cow half in October and then the CIM in December}.  I was struggling with some bothersome hip pains leading up to the marathon plus I was experiencing shin splints on & off the whole 2nd half of 2010.  I knew a little time off would be good. 

On the last day of 2010, New Years Eve, I went for a slow run/walk.  I was ready to get back to running and I knew I needed to start slow.  I really wanted to start the new year {2011} off with a bang and planned on starting a new streak of running AND walking as many consecutive days in a row as I could.  I love running but I also love taking Lucy for walks and I figured it would be good “cross training” {walking on my non-running days}.  On my running days I slowly increased my mileage and my run/walk break times.  I got up to running a full mile before walking and I kept that up, while adding on mileage each week while taking as many walk breaks as needed, for a couple of weeks.  Then I started experiencing some pretty severe ITBS as well as some piriformis issues so I decreased my run ratio and increased my walk ratio and started incorporating more hip/IT stretches. 

Over time the ITBS lessoned, but would occasionally flare up pretty bad while running {as a very sharp and painful pain on the outside of my right knee}.  I took a whole week off running and stopped doing any exercises that were explosive or involved lunges or jumping.  I continued to go on my daily walks.  I was on a streak, and really wanted to reach my 1000+++ miles this year. Plus, walking seemed to help and Lucy needs the exercise too.  After a week I was feeling a lot better, the pain on the side of knee was gone and my hips were getting more flexible.  I could tell that the knots in my IT band were going away {got to love the foam roller and The Stick}.  So, I started running again.  Only 3 days a week {Tues, Thurs & Saturday} and I stuck to a 5 or 10 minute walk warm-up followed by either a 30:1 run/walk interval or a 1:1 run/walk interval.  I kept up with my hip stretches and I continued to walk, do yoga, and foam roll.  I even started taking ice baths for my shins after my runs because, I guess I forgot to mention, that I had been having a nagging shin pain in my lower left leg for a few weeks {it was typical shin splint pain that would stop after I stopped running and wasn’t there when I was walking}.  I continued to slowly increase my running mileage {about 10% a week, usually by adding a mile onto my long runs on Saturday’s}. 

Then all of a sudden on a Thursday after my run I had severe shin splints, in both legs.  It was a typical run {as typical as a run can be in the rain} where I warmed up with a 5 minute walk then did around 4 miles with a 1:1 run/walk interval.  After an ice bath and some stretching then rest for that night and the next day/night, they were gone {except for a nagging pain still in the bottom of my left shin}.  So that Saturday morning, a week ago tomorrow, we went to meet with our running group for our long run.  Jon planned on doing 16 miles as he is training for a half marathon; I planned on 9 since I did 8+ the week before. 

I did a warm-up walk of 10 minutes then I started my 1:1 run/walk intervals.  The first few intervals were slow but okay.  I was having some tightness in my right quad and my shins starting hurting almost immediately.  Now, I’ve struggled with shin splints on and off since I started running in 2007.  Usually I can run through them and after a mile or two they actually go away.  So I kept on running.  A few times I did a longer walk in between run intervals.  But the shin pain never stopped.  After the run was over {I ran intervals for just over 7 miles and did get around 9 total with my 10 minute warm-up walk and by walking the last 1+ mile back to our starting point}, I did a lot of stretching – everything felt tight – and I took an ice bath when I got home.   I felt defeated.  I felt like every time I took one step forward with my running/fitness I ended up taking two back.  It’s been injury after injury after injury.  I rested for the rest of the day.  By that night my shins were in so much pain still and walking was troublesome.  I took some ibuprofen and figured I would feel better the next day after a good nights sleep to let my legs rest. 

But I didn’t feel better the next day.  I felt worse.  Standing was painful.  Walking was worse.  It was like all of a sudden my shins decided they had had enough.  What was once minor shin splints now felt like the worse pain I’ve ever felt in my shins.  I started to fear that I was suffering from a stress fracture on my left leg where the pain was the worse, especially when standing or walking – or any activity that applied pressure to that leg.  The right leg had a very centralized pain on the inside of the shin, just below the knee, that hurt when pressure was applied directly to that area.  The pain was worse each day and by Wednesday I was unable to walk without severe pain in the left leg; while the right leg continued to feel tight and tender.  I had an internal debate for a couple of days earlier in the week about taking some time off, going to see my doctor, going to the Urgent Care, making an appointment with a sports specialist … not knowing what would be best.  But after not being able to put pressure on my leg {standing or walking} on Wednesday I called my family doctor and scheduled an appointment for Thursday morning.  And I didn’t walk on Wednesday, breaking my streak of 54 days in a row of walking and running.

I knew what to expect from the doctor.  She would tell me not to run or walk, which I had already figured out.  She would possibly prescribe me some pain meds, which she did {600 ibuprofen, three times a day} as well as a muscle relaxer.  I thought maybe she would send me for an x-ray, which she did not.  I knew that because of the type of insurance I have I would need her to give me a referral for a sports specialist or even a physical therapist, which I know {and I hope she knows} that would be better for me since she is a general family doctor and didn’t even know how far a marathon is!!!  Yet, her plan of action is for me to take the muscle relaxers and ibuprofen for a week as well as rest from all activity {except some calf exercises and stretching, if they doesn’t hurt} and come back to see her in a week.  She told me she did not think I had a stress fracture but if I was not doing better by my appointment next week then we could discuss an x-ray and that she wanted to try the meds first because that is what my insurance would prefer before sending to a specialist or PT.  I walked out of the office crying.

So, here are the few things I’m feeling right now:  I’m upset that I couldn’t get a referral to a sports doctor.  I’m pissed I had to break my walking/running streak.  I’m worried I’ll start to gain weight while I’m not able to be active.  I’m angry, so angry, that I’m suffering again from another injury.  The up side:  my legs are starting to feel a little better.  The pain was the worst on Wednesday.  It was a little better on Thursday {yesterday} but it was still painful to walk.  Today the pain is even less but the pain is probably just masked by the pain killers and the muscle relaxers. 

I know I need to rest so my body can heal especially because quitting running IS NOT AN OPTION to me but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.